NEXT him came one, who mourned in Earnest, when the captive Ark difmember'd his brutal Image; his Head and Hands being lopt off in his own Temple, where he fell flat by the Side of the Door, and fham'd his Worshippers; his Name was DAGON, (i) a Sea Monster, like a Man upward, and downward like a Fish; yet he had his Temple rais'd high in ASHDOD, (k) and was dreaded through the Coaft of PALESTINE, in GATH, (7) and ASCALON,

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(m) and E KRON, (n) and the Frontiersand Bounds of GAZA. (0)

RIMMON follow'd him, whofe pleasant Seat was fair

Ages before, Gen. 10. 19. or rather Heb. i. e. A frong Tower, being a very strong and rich Place; and alfo Conftantia, becaufe Conftantine the Great gave it to his Sifter Conftantia. It ftands about two Miles from the Sea on the River Bezor, near E

(m) Afcalon; Heb. i. e. An ignominious Fire; or from Afcalus a Lydian, who is faid to have founded it. Another of the chief Cities of the Philiftines, on the fame Sea, 30 Miles from Jerufalem to the Weft. It was famous for a celebrated Temple of the Idol Dagon there. The Scy-gypt; therefore our Author here thians or Tartars in an Expedition, about 640 Years before the Incarnation, demolish'd an antient and stately Temple of Venus, and fome of them fettled in it; therefore it is call'd Scythopolis, Gr. i. e. the City of the Scythians, Judith 3. 10. Holofernes laid it in Ruins, and fo did Saladine in the Holy War. But Richard I. King of England repair'd it, and Joppa, Cefarea, &c. A. D. 1192. The Turks call it Scalona, by a Corruption of the Word.

calls it the Frontier Bounds of thofe Countries; 40 Miles from Jerufalem towards the SouthWeft, and was one of the best Cities the old Philistines poffeffed. Here they had a very magnificent Temple to their God Dagon, call'd Beth-Dagon, Heb. i. e. The Houfe or Temple of Dagon, capacious to receive 5000 People at once, and stood upon two main Columns, fo artfully contriv'd, that Samfon could grafp them in his two Hands, and pull the whole Fabrick upon them and himself, Judg. 16. 21. Beth-Dagon flood about 2000 Years, 'till Jonathan the Brother of Judas Maccabeus fet the City on Fire, and burnt that Temple, with all thofe his Enemies, who fled thither for Sanctuary, Mac. 10. 34. 11. 4. And fo long did a patient Deity wink at that Wickedness, before he punish'd them. Alexander the Great took this City in two Months, but it cost Alexander the third Son of Hyrcanus a whole Year, before he became Mafter of it, 1 Maccab. 13. 6i,

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fair DAMASCUs, (p) on the fruitful Banks of ABBANA (q) and PHARPHAR, (r) two Rivers of DAMAScus, whofe Waters are very pure and clear; he also was very bold against the House of GoD, once he loft a Leper, (s) and once he gain'd a King; AHAZ, (t) his foolish Conqueror, whom he drew to defpife GoD's Altar, and difplace it, for one made like thofe of SYRIA; whereon he might burn his abominable Offerings, and adore the Gods that he had conquer'd. D 3 AFTER

(p) Damafcus; Heb. i. e. Drinking Blood; because there Cain flew his Brother; or the Habitation of Sem, because he dwelt thereabout; as alfo Adam and Eve, when they were expelled Paradife, as it is reported: Or from Eliezer of Damafcus, Abraham's chief Servant, Gen. 15. 2. whom others take to be the Founder of it. The Metropolis of all Syria, 160 Miles from Jerufalem to the North, very beautiful, pleasant, fertile, and well water'd by feven Rivulets. It is the oldeft City upon Earth, built foon after the Flood, and was in the early Days of Abraham; but now it is forely decay'd, and call'd Damas by the Turks, by a Contraction of the old Name.

of him who built the first Bridge

over it.

Ano

(r) Pharphar, or Parpar, Heb. i. e. Frutifying. ther of the Rivers of Damafcus, or rather one of the three Arms of the Abbana, now the Farfar and Chryforrhoes, Gr. i. e. Running with Gold, because Gold is found in the Sands of that Ri

ver.

Some fay thefe are but two Branches of the Barraday.

(s) Leper; Fr. Ital. Span. Lat. from the Gr. i. e. A Leprous Man, full of Scabs or Scales; one that is infected with the Leprofy, Gr. i. e. A burning or very hot Disease. Here, Naaman the Syrian. This whole Hiftory is recorded 2 Kings 5. 1.

(t) Abaz; Heb. i. e. Taking Poffeffion. An idolatrous King of Judah, and the Father of good Hezekiah. He was the XIVth King, about A. M. 3205, 762 Years before Jefus Chrift, and reign'd 16 Years. He caufed Uriah the chief Prieft to fet up an Idolatrous Altar, clofe by the Altar of God, whereof he took the Pattern from that at Damafcus, which was ftrictly forbidden by the di vine Law. See 2 Kings 16, 10.

AFTER thefe there appear'd a Crew, who under renowned Names of old, fuch as OSIRIS, (u) ISIS, (x) and ORUS, (y) and their Train; with monftrous Shapes and Sorceries, abus'd the fanatick EGYPTIANS and their Priefts, inducing them to feek their Gods wandering in Difguife in the Forms of Brutes, rather than human; nor did the Children of ISRAEL efcape the Infection, when the Gold, that they had borrow'd of the EGYPTIANS, was made into the Likenefs of a Calf in OREB; and JEROBOAM, that Rebel King, doubled that Sin in

(u) Ofiris. X. An Egyptian Word, i. e. A great Eye; becaufe of his vaft Wisdom and Knowledge. A King and Philofopher of Egypt, about A. M. 2500, who first taught the Egyptians Hufbandry, Tillage, &c. for which they built him a Temple at Memphis, and worshipp'd him under the Form of an Ox. Some think this was Mizraim their Father and Founder. is the fame as Bacchus among the Greeks and Romans; and Adam, wrapt up in a Fable.

He

(x) Ifis. XI. Egypt, from the Heb. i. e. The Woman. The Wife of Ofiris, and Queen of Egypt, which were both deify'd after Death. They confecrated Cows, and the Females of all Cattle to her. She was the fame as Ceres and Cybele, viz. the Earth or Nature itself, aud was worfhipp'd every where; because they thought he had invented the Ufe of Corn, Wine, &c. Some think they were the Sun and the Moon.. She was full of Dugs, to fignify the Benefits that Men do receive from the happy Influence of the Moon.

DAN

From these the Ifraelites made their Golden Calf, and Jeroboam his two Idols. She was a Memorial of Eve. Tiberius order'd her Temple at Rome to be demolish'd, and her Image to be caft into the Tyber, because her Priests were very lewd; as fofephus relates. Her Temple at Paris was deftroy'd, when Chriftianity prevail'd there; but her Statue was preferv'd in the Abby of St. Germain des Pez, to the Year 1514.

(y) Orus. XII. Egypt, from the Heb. i. e. Light. The Son of Ifis, another King of Egypt, deify'd after his Death. He reprefented the Sun, prefided over the Hours, and was the God of Time: Therefore in the old Egyptian Language he was call'd Horns, from whence came the Word Hora, i. e. an Hour, in the Greek, Latin, and English. The Greeks call'd him Apollo, i. e. A Destroyer; because he deftroy'd many Things by the exceffive Heat of his Rays, or dif perfs'd Darkness and Clouds by his Light.

DAN (2) and in BETHEL, (a) likening JEHOVAH, (b) his Maker, to an Ox that feeds on Grafs; JEHOVAH, who in one Night, when he pafs'd from EGYPT, cut off both Men and Beafts (which were the bleating Gods that they worshipp'd) with one Blow.

LAST Came BELIAL, a more lewd Spirit than whom did not fall from Heaven, or one more grofs to love Vice meerly for itself; to him no Temple was built, nor did any Altar fmoke; yet who is oftner than he at Temples and Altars? when Priefts turn Atheists, as ELI's (c) Sons did, who fill'd the House

(*) Dan; Heb. i. e. A Judge. A City in the North of Canaan, at the Foot of Mount Libanus, and 104 Miles from Jerufalem. It was first call'd Lefhem or Lais, Heb. i. e. A roaring Lion; becaufe many Lions abounded thereabout. When the Danites took and demolish'd it, they called it Dan, in Memory of their Father, Judg. 18. 29. And the Canaanites Lehem-Dan. This idolatrous King plac'd the other Calf there, on the other Extremity of his new Kingdom, to keep the People more attach'd to himself.

(a) Bethel; Heb. i. e. The Houfe of God. A City in the Tribe of Benjamin, eight Miles North from Jerufalem. At first it was call'd Luz, Heb. i. e. A Nut Tree, because many of them grew thereabout. But Jacob But Jacob call'd it Bethel, in Memory of God's glorious Appearance to him there, Gen. 28. 19. In regard to that religious and antient Efteem of the Place, Jeroboam erected one of his Monuments of

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of

Idolatry there. The Prophet 780 Years afterwards call'd it by Way of Contempt, Beth-aven, Heb. i. e. The Houfe of Iniquity or Vanity, Hof. 4. 15. and Am. calls it Aven, i. e. Vanity, Ch. 1. 5. It was call'd Bethel in the Days of Abraham, Gen. 12. 8. Therewas an Academy or School of the Prophets, 2 Kings 2. 3.

(b) Jehovah. It denotes the Effence of God, is the peculiar and an ineffable and most mysterious Name of the Deity, and can hardly be tranflated into any Language. Ten· Names are afcrib'd to him in the Hebrew, but this is the chief and most expreffive of his infinite Nature, if it could be exprefs'd. See Pfalm 83, 18. A Name that the Jews never pronounc'd, (left it fhould be profan'd) we tranflate it Lord. Hippocrat. tiles it Euormoun, the great Mover of all Things.

(c) Eli, or Heli; Heb. i. e. Offering or lifting up. A Judge. and High-Prieft of Ifrael, about A. M. 1840. He was a good Man, but too indulgent to his Sons,